New Haven woman's statements allowed at trial

Published
8:00 pm EDT, Tuesday, June 9, 2009

NEW HAVEN

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

Associated Press

A Connecticut woman accused of lacing cups with hot sauce and refusing liquids to a toddler because he wet the bed will have her statements to police used against her in her manslaughter trial, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Testimony began in the trial of 41-year-old Sharon Patterson of Hamden. She's charged in the death of 23-month-old Amari Jackson, the son of a family friend who asked Patterson to care for the child in February 2008.

Police say the boy was deprived of liquids for at least a week because he wet a bed and that Patterson left cups laced with hot sauce around her apartment to teach the boy a lesson about drinking from other people's glasses. The state's chief medical examiner said Amari died of dehydration.

Superior Court Judge Bruce Thompson said in his ruling there was no evidence of police coercion involving Patterson, who has an IQ of 61 and is characterized by doctors as being mentally retarded.

The first witness in the case was Hamden Detective John Inglese who testified that Patterson had told him "she had nothing to hide and nothing like this has happened before." Police seized a bottle of hot sauce from a kitchen cabinet, but Inglese said he did not recall seeing any cups with hot sauce in the apartment.

Dwain Watts, who was living with Patterson at the time, testified he told police Patterson wanted to teach the boy not to drink out of other people's cups, but on the stand Wednesday he said he couldn't recall Patterson telling him that. Watts testified that he saw Patterson put hot sauce in a cup when Amari was present.